I have been following a very sad case of 9/11 fraud for several years now, never quite believing that the wheels of justice would ever turn. While I've had difficulty generating mainstream interest in this story, the person who perpetuated the fraud (Scott Shields) has caused irreparable damage to the typically unheralded heroes who are always there for us at devastating urban disasters .... such as that at Ground Zero following the infamous 9/11  attacks.

The Search and Rescue Dog Foundation's founder's comment says it all:

What is really sad is the fact that there are thousands of search and rescue volunteers that are honest, have trained and certified and are now blemished.

As the founder of the search and rescue dog foundation and a 911 k-9 handler, I have been asked about the legitimacy of my foundation because of Scott.

Volunteers spend hundreds of hours training and thousands of dollars of their own money to assist others.

For the majority of the general public...no we do not get paid by the government. EVERYTHING comes out of our own pockets.

Since early Saturday Night Live days, I have always enjoyed Al Franken. His wit is so incredibly quick and you can tell there is a huge storehouse of knowledge that lurks below his creative use of satire. His Harvard education attests to that, of course.

I have read one of his books and was so riveted by his recounting of an accidental meeting on a flight that he had with Bush's (the decider) mom. It told me more than I wanted to know about how Bush came to be as psychologically bereft as he is.

Each day brings something more hideous that Bush and his political appointees have helped to dismantle. Given the current pet food recall which continues to expand daily, as well as criticism of the FDA for failing to act expeditiously or even have procedures in place to even document its magnitude, it is quite a shocking development.

This cannot be allowed. It is not just our beloved animal companions at stake here. It is all of us that will be adversely affected.

Happiness and fulfillment in our lives always revolves around our family members, furry and non-furry species both. So, with cancer robbing us of our loved ones and a war killing & crippling so many of our brave young soldiers, it is hard not to succumb to a pervasive sense of loss.

For some weeks now, I have attempted to draw attention to a powerful story that not only recognizes the importance of canines in our lives, but draws attention to the current real life effects of a seemingly never ending war. While this diary is not the typical one here and probably will garner little attention, I figured I'd give it a try anyway. I am hoping that someone will know someone that can get this story out there.

Hastert Requests Criminal Probe of Foley

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., requested Sunday that the Justice Department conduct an investigation into former Rep. Mark Foley's electronic messages to teenage boys - a lurid scandal that has put House Republicans in political peril. "As Speaker of the House, I hereby request that the Department of Justice conduct an investigation of Mr. Foley's conduct with current and former House pages to determine to what extent any of his actions violated federal law," Hastert wrote in a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

I have a story to tell - a story I have not wanted to even whisper about. It has stayed with me for over four years. While the central character in this sordid tale has, and continues to, deceive many unsuspecting souls, it shames me to even have to acknowledge that I, too, fell victim. Yet, I am hopeful that its readers will come to see that bigger - far more important matters - are at issue here. Certainly, far bigger than my wounded pride.

Paul Levy has just come out with his long-awaited book,

The Madness of George W. Bush: A Reflection of Our Collective Psychosis.

"Paul Levy, in The Madness of George W. Bush, does a brilliant job of deconstructing the invisible spiritual and cultural ways that corruption flows into our souls and our minds -- rooting itself in our day to day lives in a manner that can cause an entire culture to go mad together. This book is an invaluable contribution to creating the change of hearts and minds that is the pathway to true evolution." ~ Catherine Austin Fitts, Former Assistant Secretary of Housing (Bush 1)

If I wasn't depressed enough about where we are heading, John Dean's newest column, If Past Is Prologue, George Bush Is Becoming An Increasingly Dangerous President, puts everything in its truly frightening perspective. And, has been suggested, it most assuredly deserves to be read in its entirety.

Recent events provide an especially good illustration of Bush's fateful - perhaps fatal - approach. Six generals who have served under Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld have called for his resignation - making a strong substantive case as to why he should resign. And they are not alone: Editorialists have also persuasively attacked Rumsfeld on the merits.

Yet Bush's defense of Rumsfeld was entirely substance-free. Bush simply told reporters in the Rose Garden that Rumsfeld would stay because "I'm the decider and I decide what's best." He sounded much like a parent telling children how things would be: "I'm the Daddy, that's why."

Apparently, Bush does not realize that to lead he must continually renew his approval with the public. He is not, as he thinks, the decider. The public is the decider.

I have a profound respect for the level of courage, morality and intelligence of many of the persons on this blog and who participate in many of the top political blogs (of which I am hopelessly addicted).

On a one-to-one basis, persons from this community have been able to show those of the right that we really all want the same things, i.e., the same liberties, the same freedoms, and the same protections.

But, on a wide-scale basis, we have not been that successful. And, much of our population has fallen victim to the MSM and those sly PR folks. I don't believe for a minute that they possess more intelligence than we do. So, maybe we need to come up with something that short and sweet and will easily stick to anyone's vernacular.

The fact that it comes from a Republican strategist makes it that much more fun.

The fictitious Kyl/Graham "floor debate" post by Anonymous Liberal (a bright attorney who says he relies on "logic, empiricism, and sound policy analysis") at Glenn Greenwald's Unclaimed Territory is frightening in its implications. While it seems that no matter the injustice, that the republicans seem to go merrily along on their crusade for inequality and betrayal of all that we as a nation stand for, one needs to wonder when the boondoggle will finally come to a screeching halt.

Rita is now due to have a direct hit through Port Arthur, TX. Steve Gregory speaks to rainfall totals of 20-30 inches in some locations. And, Dr. Jeff Masters indicates that despite Rita being a Category 3 or 4 hurricane at landfall, that she will carry to the coast a Category 4 or 5 level storm surge along a 40-60 mile stretch of coast, causing widespread destruction in the cities of Port Arthur, Orange, and Cameron.  

I know another diary has been posted on this but thought it would get buried if I just posted a comment there.

Dr. Ben Marble has been trying repeatedly to post auctions at Ebay that provide the original mini-dvd taped version, as well as video copies, of his infamous experience in Gulfport, MS. As he says, here "we survived the worst disaster in the history of our nation only to have a politician come to our neighborhood to try to score some brownie points after totally screwing up the rescue efforts".

Adele M. Stan, who writes from Washington, DC., is one of a few bloggers who recently provided a first-hand account from a clinical psychologist working as a volunteer with evacuees in the Dallas Reunion Arena and the Dallas Civic Center.